Road roller



C. F. GREINER Feb. 4, 1936.

ROAD ROLLER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 20, 1934 v v 3140044 601 CMQ F Cfmluw Feb. 4, 1936. Q R GRElNER 2,029,659

ROAD ROLLER Filed Oct. 20, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mllllllillllll Patented Feb. 4, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Buifalo- Springfield Roller 00.,

Springfield,

Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application October 20, 1934, Serial No. 749,296

3 Claims.

This invention is a novel improvement in road rollers and like vehicles, and the principal object of the invention is to provide such a vehicle with a novel auxiliary roller disposed intermediate the front and rear rollers or wheels of the vehicle and disposed slightly in advance of the center of gravity of the vehicle, with means for raising and lowering the auxiliary roller with respect to the road surface, whereby when the intermediate roller is engaged with the road surface substantially the full weight of the vehicle will be exerted downwardly upon the intermediate roller to roll or smooth any irregularities in the road surface.

Other objects of the invention are to provide in one embodiment novel fluid cylinders for raising the auxiliary roller with respect to the ground surface and for lowering said roller into operative position; also to provide arms at opposite sides of the vehicle pivoted on the frame, which arms carry at their lower ends the journals for the auxiliary roller, the arrangement of fluid cylinders and arms being such that when the auxiliary roller is in lowered or operative position the pistons of the cylinders will be under tension rather than under compression, thereby avoiding bending of the piston rods; also to provide in another embodiment manual means for raising and lowering the auxiliary roller; also to provide novel stops against which the arms contact for taking the strain and thrust of the arms (and the strain from the pistons) when the auxiliary roller is contacting with the ground and the vehicle is moving forwardly.

Further objects of the invention will be hereinafter set forth.

I will explain the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one practical embodiment thereof to enable others familiar with the art to adopt and use the same; and will summarize in the claimsthe novel features of construction, and novel combinations of parts, for which protection is desired.

In said drawings: I

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a conventional road roller, showing my novel auxiliary roller together with its fluid cylinder operating mechanism applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2-2, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 iso. conventional top plan view of the road roller.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation similar to Fig. 1 showing the novel auxiliary roller and the manual operating means.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55, Fig. 4.

As shown in Figs. 1-3, the road roller is of conventional form, having a single front roller A, mounted in a yoke B, swiveled in the trunnion casting C, the yoke being operated by suitable 5 steering mechanism (not shown). A pair of side frames D are connected with the trunnion casting C, the side frames being arched upwardly over the front roller A. The rear ends of the side frames ID are supported by rear wheels E disposed at opposite sides of the side frames and a motor F is mounted in the frame. The above parts are purely conventional, and form no part of my present invention.

In order to provide headroom for the intermediate roller, I recess thelower front portions of the side frames D, as at D' to a point substantially under the center of gravity of the vehicle, and strengthen the side frames-D by means of channel bars G riveted or otherwise secured thereto along the lower edge of each side bar conforming with the contour thereof.

Journaled in the channel irons G in advance of the center of gravity of the vehicle is a shaft l carrying arms 2 keyed thereto or otherwise attached to work in unison therewith, and disposed at opposite sides of the vehicle, the lower ends 2a of which arms carry the journals .for the intermediate roller 3. The axle 3a of roller 3 is preferably journaled in bearing blocks 4 which are bolted as at 5 to the lower ends of arms 2.. In order to adjust the roller 3 to the desired vertical operating position with relation to the road surface, shims 6 may be inserted between the lower ends of arms 2 and the bearing blocks 4 is indicated in Figs. 1 and 2.

Opposite the upper ends of arms 2 are fluid cylinders I, pivoted at 8 to side frames D, said cylinders having pistons 9 therein carried by piston rods l0. Cylinders 1 are disposed substantially horizontally and in advance of arms 2, and the piston rods H! are pivotally connected as at H to the upper ends of the arms.

Mounted on the channel irons G are stops l2 adapted to limit the rearward movement of the lower ends-2a of the arms, the stops l2 taking the thrust and pressure of the piston rods and arms when the auxiliary roller 3 is contacting with the road surface and meets any raised portions or obstructions in the road. I

The arms 2 may be swung from normal inoperative position (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1) to operative position (shown in full lines) by the fluid cylinders I; and by the above arrangement of parts the piston rods III are under tension instead of compression when the roller 3 is contacting with the ground, thereby eliminating any tendency of the piston rods to bend. The stops I2 not only limit the rearward movement of the ower ends of the arms 2 but also receive the thrust and pressure of the arms, and relieve the piston rods from compression when the roller 3 is contacting with the road surface and the vehicle is moving forwardly. The intermediate roller 3 when in operative position, being disposed in advance of but near the center of gravity of the vehicle, will carry a large portion of the weight of the vehicle, and will effectively roll or smooth any irregularities in the road surface. The recessed portions D of the frames D allow ample headroom for receiving the roller 3 when raised into inoperative position shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1.

In the modification shown in Figs. 4-5, the construction of the roller 3, bearing blocks 4, shaft I, stop I2, and the lower ends 2a of the arms, is substantially the same as shown in Figs. 1-3, and the parts are similarly numbered. In place however of the fluid cylinders 1, pistons 9, and piston rods I0, the upper ends of the arms are provided with worm segments 23: meshing with worms [5 on shafts I6 journaled in bearings I! said shafts being disposed forwardly and downwardly and having hand wheels IS on their upper ends adjacent the operators platform P of the road roller. Rotation of hand wheels l8 will pivot the arms 2a and roller 3 from the operative position shown in full lines in Fig. 4 into the raised or inoperative position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4.

I claim:-

1. In a road vehicle having a wheeled frame; arms journaled on the frame adjacent the center of the vehicle; a ground roller carried by the lower ends of said arms adapted to support the greater portion of the weight of the vehicle when the roller is in operative position contacting with the ground; abutments carried by the frame adapted to take the thrust from the arms and to fix the operative position of the roller; and means for simultaneously pivoting the arms through equal arcs, said means main aining said arms in firm contact with the abutments when the roller is in operative position; said abutments and means coacting to rigidly support the arms with respect to the frame.

2. In a road vehicle having a wheeled frame; arms journaled on the frame adjacent the center of the vehicle; a ground roller carried by the lower ends of said arms adapted to support the greater portion of the weight of the vehicle when the roller is in operative position contacting with the ground; abutments carried by the frame adapted to take the thrust from the arms and to fix the operative position of the roller; means for simultaneously pivoting the arms through equal arcs, said means maintaining said arms in firm contact with the abutments when the roller is in operative position; said abutments and means coacting to rigidly support the arms with respect to the frame; and means for varying the effective lengths of the arms when in operative position to adjust the vertical position of the roller with respect to the frame.

3. In a road vehicle having a wheeled frame; arms journaled on the frame adjacent the center of the vehicle; journal blocks carried by the lower ends of said arms; a ground roller journaled in the blocks adapted to support the greater portion of the weight of the vehicle when the arms are in operative position with the roller contacting with the ground; means for varying the effective lengths of the arms when in operative position to adjust the vertical position of the roller with respect to the frame; abutments carried by the frame adapted to take the thrust from the arms and to fix the operative position of the roller; and means for simultaneously pivoting the arms through equal arcs, said means maintaining said arms in firm contact with the abutments when the roller is in operative position; said abutments and means coacting to rigidly support the arms with respect to the frame.

CARL F. GREINER. 

